LAHORE: Asad Munir had promised his granddaughter he would take her to Disneyland the following summer but in November 2017, his name was placed on Pakistan’s no-fly list after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) launched a corruption probe against the retired brigadier for alleged misuse of authority in 2008.
In March 2019, Munir, 66, took his own life in Islamabad.
A day earlier, NAB’s executive board had approved the filing of a corruption reference against him and other former officials of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for illegally allotting a plot in Islamabad. In his replies to NAB in preceding months — seen by Arab News — Munir said the plot was allotted by the chairman of the authority at the time and he had just forwarded the case to the chairman after three other officers also scrutinized it and found the transaction to be within the law.
Since 2017, at least 13 people being probed by NAB have died — either by suicide or due to cardiac arrests and stress — while in custody, according to a brief compiled by Sehar Kamran, a former senator from the opposition Pakistan People’s Party, many of whose leaders are currently being investigated by NAB. The brief has been submitted before the Human Rights Committees of the Senate and National Assembly, the ministry of human rights, the Pakistan Bar Council, and the chief justice of Pakistan, among others.
Kamran told Arab News she had not received a response from the court or the parliamentary committees despite sending reminders.
Other than the case of Asad Munir, this reporter could not independently verify the details of the 12 other deaths listed in Kamran’s brief.
“There has to be a probe on how these people are dying in custody,” she said.
While hearing a case in April 2019, then chief justice Asif Saeed Khosa also questioned the manner in which NAB conducted its investigations.
“People have now started committing suicide,” the chief justice was quoted by local media as saying. “The Supreme Court has taken up the matter of mysterious suicide committed by former intelligence officer and analyst Asad Munir.”
Munir’s daughter, Meena Gabeena, described how her father’s life unraveled as he faced the corruption allegations.
“Being placed on the list was very troubling for him,” she told Arab News. “He started to go into depression.”
On March 14, 2019, after Munir learnt from watching the news that his case would go onto the next stage of inquiry, his wife found him in his study, holding a gun under his chin and sobbing uncontrollably. She hid the gun.
The next morning, she found him again, this time hanging from a ceiling fan.
“I am committing suicide to avoid humiliation, being handcuffed and paraded in front of the media,” Munir wrote in a letter addressed to the chief justice.
“I request you, the honorable chief justice, to take notice of NAB’s officials conduct so that other government officials are not convicted for the crimes they had not committed,” he added. “I am giving my life in the hope that you the honorable Chief Justice will bring positive changes in the system where incompetent people are playing with the life and honor of citizen in the name of accountability.”
A year after Munir’s death, Khurram Humayun, another former government official, being investigated by NAB for embezzlement, took his own life. His family did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
The National Accountability Bureau, established in 1999 by then military ruler General Pervez Musharraf, functions under a law that gives it the powers to arrest anyone under investigation for a period of 90 days. The detention duration can be extended. In one example, opposition politician Hamza Shahbaz remained in jail for 20 months in a money laundering case despite never being convicted by a court. He finally got bail last week.
Rights activists have called such pretrial detentions by NAB a human rights violation.
“Legal institutions have the right to pursue a case against a person,” Dr. Mehdi Hasan of the Human Rights Commission Pakistan said, “but to detain or arrest someone when a crime is not proven is a violation of basic human rights.”
Indeed, since the Prime Minister Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) formed its government in August 2018, 15 high-profile politicians have been in and out of prison over corruption, as per an Arab News tally. Of them, only two, Aleem Khan and Sibtain Khan, belong to the ruling party. The rest are from opposition parties: Asif Ali Zardari, Nawaz Sharif, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Khawaja Salman Rafique, Shehbaz Sharif, Hamza Shehbaz, Khursheed Shah, Faryal Talpur, Agha Siraj Durrani, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal and Maryam Nawaz Sharif.
A disproportionate number of the “179 mega corruption cases” listed on NAB’s website are against PTI’s rivals, including former prime ministers Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Yousaf Raza Gilani and Nawaz Sharif.
A NAB spokesperson repeatedly declined requests for comments for this article. Raoof Hasan, the prime minister’s aide on information, also declined comment.
“I think that these kinds of incidents should not happen in such large numbers,” Irfan Qadir, former attorney general of Pakistan and an ex-NAB prosecutor general, said about alleged deaths and illness of people being investigated by the accountability bureau. “Even if the cases against these people [who died] were borderline or difficult to determine or there was any doubt, even then it is not a good thing that they died in custody ... This is so tragic.”
“The way to handle such cases is that you send the [corruption] case to the court and if the court convicts him then arrest the person,” Qadir added.
Malik Aamir Dogar, a special assistant to the prime minister on political affairs, admitted NAB was overstepping powers.
“To an extent this is absolutely true that NAB is exceeding its powers,” he told Arab News. “There are a lot of things that need to be revisited in NAB’s law and amendments are needed. In many cases the high courts and supreme court have also expressed serious reservations. In the parliament we tried that some things that are excessive and are overdue in the law are revisited, such as arrest during inquiry, and the 90-days remand tenure that is too long.”
But with opposition parties having launched a countrywide agitation to unseat PM Khan, it would be difficult at the moment, Dogar said, to reach an agreement with them to amend anti-corruption laws.
In the meantime, Munir’s family has withdrawn the case filed in the Supreme Court after his death. In a letter to the chief justice seen by Arab News, his wife said she neither had the resources nor the capacity to pursue the case.
National accountability bureau ‘exceeding’ powers, Pakistani PM’s adviser says
https://arab.news/9rb4s
National accountability bureau ‘exceeding’ powers, Pakistani PM’s adviser says
- Chief justice has questioned NAB’s investigation tactics, asked why people were falling ill or dying in its custody
- “There are a lot of things that need to be revisited in NAB law and amendments are needed,” Aamir Dogar says
Nida Dar becomes top wicket-taker in women’s T20Is despite Pakistan’s loss to England
- Despite Dar’s milestone, Pakistan fell to England by 65 runs, allowing the hosts to secure a 2-0 series lead
- Pakistan are now gearing up for the third and final T20I against England, set to take place on May 19 in Leeds
ISLAMABAD: Nida Dar, captain of the Pakistan women’s cricket team, made history by becoming the top wicket-taker in Women’s T20 International cricket with her 137th wicket during the second match against England in Northampton on Friday.
Despite her milestone, Pakistan fell to England by 65 runs, allowing the hosts to secure a 2-0 series lead.
England, batting first, were restricted to 144-6, thanks in part to Dar’s two wickets. However, Pakistan struggled in reply, collapsing to 79 all out within 15.5 overs as English spinners Sophie Ecclestone, Alice Capsey and Sarah Glenn collectively snagged seven wickets.
The International Cricket Council recognized Dar’s historic performance on its website after the match.
“Dar overtook Australia’s Megan Schutt (136 wickets) to lay her claim at the top of the leading wicket-takers chart in women’s T20I on Friday, 17 May,” the ICC proclaimed. “She is the only Pakistan woman in the top 10 list.”
The Pakistan skipper, who started the game with 135 career wickets, was on the verge of setting the new record during Pakistan’s recent home series against the West Indies.
In the match against England, she edged closer to the milestone by getting Capsey stumped in almost the middle of the game and later, in the final over, clinched her landmark 137th wicket by dismissing Amy Jones.
Pakistan are now gearing up for the third and final T20I against England, set to take place on May 19 in Leeds.
Pakistan to send two-member delegation to Kyrgyzstan, offers free evacuation to stranded students
- The decision comes after five Pakistani students were injured in mob violence against foreign nationals in Bishkek
- Deputy PM Ishaq Dar will lead the delegation on Sunday morning to review arrangements for the return of students
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif decided to send a two-member delegation to the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek and offered free travel facilities to all Pakistani students stranded there on Saturday, following mob violence against foreign nationals enrolled in various universities that led to evacuation requests.
The violence erupted on Friday night after videos of a brawl between Kyrgyz and Egyptian students went viral online, prompting furious mobs to target hostels of medical universities and private lodgings of international students, including Pakistanis, in the city.
According to official statistics, around 10,000 Pakistani students are enrolled in various educational institutions in Kyrgyzstan, with nearly 6,000 residing and studying in Bishkek.
Speaking to Arab News on Saturday, many students reported the Pakistan embassy had advised them to stay indoors, though they had run out of food and water. Some even expressed fears that rioting might resume at night and requested evacuation by the authorities.
A statement released by the PM’s Office in the evening indicated that Sharif had directed Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and another cabinet member, Amir Maqam, to address the situation in Bishkek.
“Both officials will depart for Bishkek early tomorrow morning [on Sunday] via a special plane,” the statement continued. “Throughout the day, the Prime Minister had been monitoring the situation and staying in contact with the Pakistani ambassador in Bishkek.”
“Despite the satisfactory situation,” it added, “the decision to send this delegation was made to ensure necessary support and facilities for Pakistani students.”
The two Pakistani officials will meet with senior government officials in the Kyrgyz capital to ensure medical treatment for injured students and review arrangements for their return.
In an earlier statement, the prime minister noted that those who wanted to return to Pakistan would be “facilitated at the government’s expense.”
Sharif also declared that his administration would not leave the students alone during such a difficult time and would remain in contact with them and their parents through the embassy.
Meanwhile, the foreign office activated its Crisis Management Unit to facilitate and assist Pakistani nationals in the Kyrgyz Republic and their families. The unit can be contacted on the following numbers: +92519203108 and +92519203094, or via email at [email protected].
The country’s ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Hasan Zaigham said earlier in the day that five Pakistani medical students had been injured in the mob attack. One student was admitted to a local hospital with a jaw injury, while the other four were released after receiving first aid.
“No Pakistani was killed or raped in the violence,” he told Arab News over the phone, dispelling rumors circulating on social media. “The situation is under control now as Bishkek authorities have dispersed all the miscreants.”
Journalists protest temporary closure of Quetta Press Club, demand media freedom inquiry
- Police locked the facility after rights activist Mahrang Baloch decided to hold a seminar at the facility
- The Balochistan Union of Journalists issued a statement, describing it as an attack on press freedom
KARACHI: Journalists in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province on Saturday condemned the temporary closure of Quetta Press Club by police, demanding an inquiry into what they called an attack on media freedom in violation of the country’s constitution.
The incident took place after the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), an ethnic rights movement led by local activist Mahrang Baloch, organized a seminar at the press club, prompting the police to lock the facility. However, supporters of the rights movement broke the lock and entered the club.
Last year, Baloch gained national visibility by leading a protest march to Islamabad, saying her objective was to bring attention to enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in her province, though the government denied the state’s involvement in any such activities.
“The Balochistan Union of Journalists strongly condemns the closure of the Quetta Press Club by the administration in harsh terms, considering it an attack on press freedom and a blatant violation of the Article 19 of the Constitution,” said a statement that called for investigation into the issue.
“The closure of the Press Club is an assault on the freedom and rights of journalists, which is unacceptable,” it added. “This move by the administration is a conspiracy to silence journalists, and we will protest vigorously against it.”
The union pointed out that journalists were already facing threats and challenges, though it added they would continue to fulfill their responsibilities and remain undeterred by such measures.
“Article 19 of Pakistan’s Constitution grants every citizen the freedom of expression, and the closure of the Press Club is a clear violation of it,” the statement continued. “The Balochistan Union of Journalists demands a high-level investigation into the matter so that journalists can fulfil their duties without fear or danger.”
When contacted, Banaras Khan, the general secretary of Quetta Press Club, told Arab News the district administration had asked the club’s administration to cancel the program, citing security reasons.
“Half of the participants came and half were on their way when the police locked the gate,” he said, adding he had refused to cancel the program.
“I informed the authorities that I wouldn’t force the participants to leave,” Khan revealed. “If the provincial administration wanted to, they could, but they should then lock the gate, and we would leave as well,” he said, highlighting his disagreement with the officials that made him warn that the journalists would vacate the premises in protest.
Shahid Rind, a Balochistan government spokesperson, said, however, it was the decision of the police, deployed outside the club for its protection, to lock the facility as a strategy to deal with the large crowd, adding the government had no intention to stop the program.
“Our position is clear,” he said. “We didn’t put any locks, nor did we want to stop the seminar.”
Rind said the organizers had mentioned in their invitations only registered participants would attend the program.
He said the gate was temporarily locked by the police.
“After that, the seminar continued throughout the day,” he added. “If we had wanted to stop the seminar, or if the state had wanted to stop it forcefully, would the seminar have been allowed to take place?”
Seven Pakistanis, including two women, feature in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list this year
- The American magazine annually compiles the list to celebrate 300 young people for their innovative abilities
- The seven Pakistanis have contributed to the fields of art and finance along with enterprise and consumer technology
ISLAMABAD: Two women among a group of seven Pakistanis were featured in the popular Forbes 30 Under 30 list this week, earning international recognition for their leadership abilities in their respective professional fields.
The American business magazine annually compiles the 30 Under 30 list to celebrate 300 remarkable individuals under the age of 30, selected across 10 categories, each featuring 30 standout figures.
These young leaders are recognized for their innovative contributions and influence in areas such as technology, arts, finance and science, marking them as trailblazers poised to shape the future of their industries in their respective regions.
Among the fintech entrepreneurs facilitating access to capital, Forbes named Lahore-based Aleena Nadeem on top, saying her company EduFi was helping more Pakistanis go to university.
“Nadeem’s concept is simple,” the magazine wrote. “She realized some paycheck-to-paycheck families couldn’t handle lump sum payments at the start of a semester— but could afford tuition paid monthly.”
“EduFi has partnered with 27 Pakistani colleges (a number that’s doubled in the past six months), who funnel prospective customers its way,” the article added. “It does its own credit-vetting, then pays tuition for approved students who repay the loan on a monthly basis as they study.”
It also mentioned Bushra Sultan, a Pakistani filmmaker, creative director and production designer, saying her work addressed her country’s constraints on women.
“Her most notable work is in fashion and beauty,” the magazine said. “A campaign for Demesne Couture called ‘Guria’ depicted two opulently dressed women being controlled like puppets by giant hands pulling strings, a comment on the country’s wedding industry and the demands made on brides.”
“Sultan is also known for her audacious ‘Chimera’ campaign featuring headless women,” it added.
Much like Nadeem, Pakistan’s Sarkhail Bawany was listed among the fintech entrepreneurs.
Bawany is the head of product at fintech company Abhi, which empowers workers to withdraw a percentage of their salary before the next paycheck when they need emergency cash.
“Abhi works on a B2B2C model, partnering with companies such as Unilever Pakistan to offer the service as a benefit to employees,” Forbes said, adding the company had also expanded to the Middle East and Bangladesh.
Others Pakistanis on the list include Kasra Zunnaiyyer, the co-founder of Karachi-based Trukkr, which has developed a management platform for Pakistan’s logistics sector. Zunnaiyyer made it to the Forbes list in the Enterprise Technology category.
The line-up also had Adeel Abid, Aizaz Nayyer and Ali Raza, who established the Karachi-based platform for freelancers called Linkstar.
“The company helps freelancers create free portfolio websites that can be upgraded with advanced functionalities such as international payments and social media integration,” the magazine announced.
Pakistan calls for removal of technology restrictions to aid developing nations at UN meeting
- Access to emerging technologies in the Global South is often influenced by geopolitical concerns
- Pakistan says equitable access to technology can help developing nations meet future challenges
ISLAMABAD: A senior Pakistani diplomat at the United Nations urged technology-producing nations on Friday to remove restrictions on the equitable spread of scientific knowledge and equipment, saying it would help advance developing countries.
Access to emerging technologies in the Global South is often influenced by geopolitical concerns, as international relations and trade policies can dictate the availability and distribution of these resources.
This geopolitical gatekeeping not only restricts technological advancement in less developed nations but also perpetuates global inequities in access to cutting-edge tools and innovations.
In case of Pakistan, US export controls limit access to high-end technologies, particularly those with dual-use capabilities that might be diverted for military purposes.
“Unless fair and equitable access to new and emerging technologies is provided to developing countries, and all undue restrictions removed, the Global South will lag even further behind in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” Ambassador Usman Jadoon, Pakistan’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, told a Security Council meeting.
According to an official statement, he underscored the transformative power of science in improving lives and anticipating threats through climate modeling, disease surveillance, and early warning systems.
Additionally, he highlighted Pakistan’s significant strides in nuclear technology, space exploration and biotechnology, saying that his country wanted to leverage scientific advancements for progress and stability.
“New and emerging technologies play an undeniable role in the progress of any society and in maintaining international peace and security when used in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter,” he continued.
Ambassador Jadoon mentioned Pakistan’s concerns about the unregulated military applications of emerging technologies and supported calls for establishing legally-binding norms to regulate their use, ensuring regional and global stability.
He affirmed his country’s commitment to unlocking the potential of science for peace and progress, advocating for responsible scientific practices and international cooperation to build a safer and more prosperous future.
